Hear, hear. Also, I would never want a pair of shoes that didn’t absorb moisture. But that’s a moot point, because I’ll never own a pair (unless I become a middle-school girl in the '90s or a great-grandma on her first trip to Florida).
I didn’t know about the alternative forms. But I usually use the term “croc” as a generic term for all the various shoes that look like the originals.
I like them, when they fit. I mostly use them as house/yard shoes, but I’ll wear them out when I don’t really care what I look like. I found a brand that was cheap and comfortable (even though they are a type of camo, which I think looks ugly):
What I like is how tall they are, though they do start to make me look like my shoes are too big as they wear out more. I need new ones, but I’m having trouble finding my size.
RealTree also partners with Croc, but those are all less comfortable due to not being as tall. They leave red imprints on my feet. And they cost a lot more.
Though, to be fair, I always got the others on sale.
Got my first pair early in this century, NFL branded freebee from a vendor at work (small company, we rotated who got the freebee every order). Still have them, don’t think I have ever worn them in public.
Bought two pair 10 years ago-ish, they were on sale. One pair was some realtree camo pattern, the other was “designer” dark olive with olive drab “spray-dot pattern” and crocs carved into the outside edge, though hard to read because the top half is open to the bed of the shoe and the bottom half is carved into the sole of the shoe, maybe half inch from the bottom of the sole, basically another camo pattern. I have worn the “designer” crocs in public but rarely.
Great house shoes, great for running garbage out to the alley. Great because you can step in the stupidest of things, it don’t matter you can scrub them clean. Now, there were many mentions above, crocs can be dangerous as bleep on the slightest wet/slick surface. Never had a bad fall but have had some real scares. Definite camping must have.
I have a friend that is an active gardener/fisherman/forager/outdoorsy kinda guy. He burns through crocs, buys at least one pair a year. He prefers the crocs with the adjustable heel strap.
For what it’s worth, jellies never went away. They come and go, like Converse. But little girls still get jellies, and still love them. Especially the ones with glitter.
What could CrocsCorp do to liven up their product line? Converse has the ability to customize your own pair, to a moderate degree, much more interesting than letting some minor celebrity do so.